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STORIES 



OF 



AMERICArt PIOflEERS 



DANIEL BOONE 

LEWIS AND CLARK 
FREMONT 

KIT CARSON 



EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING C 
BOSTON 
New York Chicago San fRANCisc^^. 

TWO COPIES RECEIVED 







Copyrighted 
By educational PUBLISHING COMPANY, 

1897. 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

7 



Daniel Boone ....... 

Westward .,..,.. 13 

Boone's Brother . . , . . . - 25 

The New Home . , . . . 31 
Boone's Escape ....... 41 

Colonel Boone ...... 51 

Bryan Station . . . . , . -57 

An Ambuscade ...... 65 

Boone's Last Years . . . . . • 71 

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark . 75 

John Charles Fremont and Kit Carson 123 

Kit Carson as Fremont's Guide . . 131 

Fremont's Peak . . . -139 

A Second Expedition . . . . 153 

Fremont's Men Surprised . . .163 




DANIEL BOONE ON GUARD. 



TORY 



AI 



1735 — 1820. 

Daniel Boone was a Pennsylvania boy. 
He lived in Exeter, then a very little town 
sixty miles from Philadelphia. 

Even when a boy he showed rare pluck 
and courage. 

One day he was at play in the woods 
with two other boys, when a wild yell echoed 
through the forests. 

The boys turned pa e with fright ; for 
they well knew nothing but a panther could 
make that cry. 



8 DANIEL BOONE. 

Every boy seized his rifle; for in those 
days boys always carried rifles with them. 

The panther with another yell leaped 
from the great rock to the limb of a tree. 
Then he set his yellow eyes upon the boys 
and crept towards them. 

" Stay here," said Boone to the boys. 
*'I will run towards the creature. If I fail 
to shoot him, and he attacks me, come and 
help." 

Then Daniel crept towards the panther. 
He held his rifle ready, and, as the fierce 
animal sprang from the tree, he fired. 

Snap ! snap ! went the rifle ; and the 
panther, with another yell, fell at the young 
hunter's feet, dead. 

The boys dragged the creature into the 
village, and all the people came to look at 
the panther that little Dan Boone had killed. 



10 DANIEL BOONE. 

From this time, Daniel began to spend 
much of his time in the forests. He loved 
the big trees ; and to him there was no such 
sport as hunting. 

One day, while he was prowling up and 
down the Schuylkill River, he came upon a 
spot most beautiful. 

" What a place for a hut ! " he thought. 
" I will build one." So he sat to work at 
once. 

It was not a log cabin the boy built. 
O, no ; that would not have been wild 
enough to suit his taste. 

In one place there were two great rocks 
close together. The sides were steep, as if 
sometime the rock had split apart. 

"This will make a fine cave," he said. So 
he cleared away the small rocks between, and 
covered the floor over with clean, dry leaves. 



DANIRL BOONE. 11 

Then he built up a back for his cave, 
and covered it with a roof of twigs and 
grasses. 

With stones he made a place to do his 
cooking; he piled up leaves in one corner 
to make a bed for himself and his dog, and 
then his hut was finished. 

" How would you like to live here, old 
fellow ? " he said, patting the head of his 
faithful friend. 

The dog looked up into his master's 
face, and wagged his tail. 

He understood and Daniel understood; 
so they went into their hut and went to 
sleep. 

For several days the boy and the dog 
lived there — the happiest boy and the hap- 
piest dog in all the world. 

But, by and by, Daniel's parents began 



12 DANIEL BOONE. 

to fear some accident had happened to the 
boy ; and then the men of the village set 
out into the forest to find him. 

They came one morning just as Daniel 
was cooking his breakfast. The smoke 
poured out through the little hole in the roof 
of the hut. 

''There he is!" they cried; and started 
towards the hut. 

" Good morning," they said, when they 
came upon Daniel hard at work at the door- 
way of his new home. 

So Daniel had " company for breakfast; " 
and when, a few hours later, his guests went 
back to the village, he went back with them. 

But he always said he never had such 
a good time in all his life as he had that 
week alone in the woods. 



^A^ESTWARD. 

By and by, Daniel's parents moved to 
North Carolina. Daniel liked the change, 
for it was warmer there, and he could live 
in the woods the whole year round if he 
wished. 

Here, in Carolina, Daniel grew to be a 
man. He was very happy, farming and hunt- 
ing. And when the Cherokee Indian war 
broke out, he was one of the most daring 
heroes in that war. 

But it was when Daniel left his Car- 
olina home and went west that the wonder- 
ful part of his life began. 

When the Cherokees were driven west- 
is 




Lc^^2^ 



WESTWARD. 



DANIEL BOONE. 15 

ward, white settlers began to hear of the 
wonderful country beyond the mountains. 

They were told that the soil was very 
fertile ; that it was a rich farming country ; 
that game was plenty ; and that there was 
iron and silver in the mines. 

It was the fur traders who brought back 
these marvellous stories. 

Later parties of white men began 
to take journeys into this new country. 
They found it as beautiful as the fur traders 
had said. 

'' I will go, too," said Daniel Boone ; so 
he packed his knap-sack and started out. 

We know it was as early as 1760 that 
Daniel Boone went west ; for he cut some 
words on a beech tree, and the date, 1760. 
This old tree was standing until only a few 
years ago. 



l(j DANIEL BOONE 

The words Daniel Boone cut were these : 
D. Boon 
CillED A Bar On 

in ThE Tree 

yEAR 1760 

You see, from this, that Daniel was not 
an educated man. He could not always spell 
as he should. And he does n't seem to 
have quite understood the use of capitals. 

But we must remember there were no 
schools in those days, except in the towns 
and villages. If a boy learned to read easy 
words and could write his name, that was 
enough. 

In 1769, Daniel Boone became acquainted 
with James Findley. Findley was a success- 
ful Kentucky trader. Each time he came 
back to Carolina, he had wonderful stories 
to tell. 



DANIEL BOONE. 17 

It was with James Findley and four other 
daring men, John Stuart, Joseph Holden, 
Jam^es Murray and William Cool, that Boone 
first set out into the wild west. 

They traveled through forests so dense 
that the sunlight could not peep through ; 
they swam across rivers ; and they climbed 
up and down rocky mountains. 

There were hostile Indians on every 
side. At any time an arrow might come 
whizzing out frorrt behind a tree at them. 
At night the wolves howled and the panthers 
yelled. 

At last they gained a peak of the Cum- 
berland, and looked down upon the beautiful 
fields of Kentucky. 

There lay the sparkling Kentucky river, 
and up and down its banks herds of buffalo 
were grazing. 



r' 



DANIEL BOONE. 19 

In this valley the six hunters made their 
camp, and there they spent the winter. 

Late in December, Daniel Boone and 
John Stuart started towards Ohio to hunt 
and explore the country. They had seen no 
Indians up to this time. But one day, while 
they were hunting on the banks of the Ken- 
tucky, a band of savages sprang out from 
the tall grasses and attacked them. 

Of course, two men wxre helpless before 
so many Indians. 

The savages seized them by the arms 
and led them away. 

'' We must not be afraid. We must pre- 
tend to be interested in the wigwam life of 
these people," said Boone. 

'' I have heard that when a captive 
appears to enjoy his new life in the camp of 
his captors, they are not likely to kill him." 



20 DANIEL BOONE. 

The Indians began, after a time, to treat 
them as guests. 

So the two men pretended to be greatly 
interested in the camp to which their captors 
took them. 

They played with the little children. 
They helped to grind the corn. They showed 
the Indians how to build cabins. They helped 
their captors to gather the thick cane brake, 
and to prepare the game for cooking. 

Then the Indians began to treat them 
as friends. They grew less watchful of them. 
By and by, they did not tie them at all when 
night-time came. They allowed them to sleep 
in the wigwams, as free as the warriors them- 
selves. 

But all this time Boone and Stuart were 
on the watch. 

One night the Indians were very tired. 



DANIEL BOONE. 21 

They had been hunting all day long, and so 
slept heavily. 

In the middle of the night, the two 
men crept out from their wigwam. 

They crept softly into the thicket and 
made their way tow^ards the river. All night 
long they ran ; and when morning came they 
hid again in the dense forests. 

When the Indians knew their captives 
had fled, they ran in all directions. Once 
Boone heard them not far away ; but they 
did not find the white men, and soon gave 
up the search. 

Then Boone and Stuart hurried down 
the river till they came at last to the old 
camp. 

But a strange thing had happened. The 
camp was deserted, and not a man was to 
be found. 




C' -'-^:t^^^ 



THE INDIANS KAN IN ALL DIRECTIONS. 



DANIEL BOONE. 23 

The cabin, though in ruins, was still 
standing. And near by was a pile of logs 
still burning. 

Boone and Stuart waited, thinking the 
four companions must have gone out to hunt. 

'' And still they would not have left 
their camp unguarded," said Boone. 

" There seem to be signs of' a struggle or 
massacre," said Stuart. 

But whatever had or had not happened, 
the four men never came back to their camp. 
And no one, to this day, has ever known 
what became of them. 

The Indians round about were questioned, 
but they all declared they did not know. 
Certainly the men did not return to Carolina ; 
and so the fate of these four men is still 
a mystery. 



THE COMING OF BOONE'S BROTHER. 

Boone and Stuart were now all alone in 
the deep forests. They had very little 
ammunition, and they knew there was dan- 
ger on every side. 

They built a log cabin for themselves 
and plastered it over with mud. This plas- 
ter kept out the rain and snow. And, besides, 
the men could conceal themselves better in 
mud huts in case of attack from the red men. 

For a long time the two men lived 
here alone. It was winter, and they dared 
not set out to travel homeward until the 
snow was gone. 

One day in midwinter, two white men 
appeared before the cabin. Never were two 

25 



26 DANIEL BOONE. 

white men so glad to see two other wliite men. 

And the greatest surprise of all was that 
the two men were from Boone's Carolina 
home. They had come in search of Daniel 
and the other men of the party. 

One of the men was Squire Boone, 
Daniel's own brother. '' We were worried 
about you," said he ; '' and so started out to 
find you. We thought you might need food 
and ammunition. 

'' Indeed we do/' said Boone. ''You have 
not come a day too soon." 

" But w^here are the other men ? " 

Then Boone and Stuart told the story 
of their own capture and the empty camp 
they had found on their return. 

Fortunately, the two new-comers had 
brought a good supply of ammunition. 

" Now," said Boone, '' we will begin hunt- 



DANIEL BOONE. 27 

ing in good earnest. Stuart and I will hunt, 
and you two shall prepare the skins. Then 
when spring comes we will go back to Car- 
olina and sell our furs." 

So each day Boone and Stuart went 
out into the forests, and each night they 
brought home their game. 

They had little fear, for the red men 
were not apt to be prowling about the forests 
in the winter. 

But in some way, the Indians heard that 
the white men wxtc living in the old camp, 
and they determined to watch for them. 

The white men suspected no danger; but 
one day as they were tramping through the 
forest, a volley of arrows poured in upon them. 
Indians were firing upon them from among" 
the bushes and behind trees. 

Boone and Stuart raised their guns, but 



28 DANIEL BOONE 

it was too late. Another volley came and 
Stuart fell dead. Boone fled to a thicket and 
managed to escape. Only a day or two 
after, Squire Boone's companion returned 
home, and the two brothers were left alone. 

It was very lonely then in the cabin, and 
when spring- came, Daniel's brother took what 
skins they had prepared and went back to 
Carolina. 

''I will get horses and ammunition, 
Daniel," he said, "but why not come home 
with me?" 

But Daniel loved the forests, and would 
not leave them. Solitary and alone, he roamed 
the forests for two months, before his brother 
again found him. Together they then set 
out exploring the country. 

Daniel found a beautiful place on the 
Kentucky river, and made up his mind that 
he would make a home for his family there. 



DANIEL BOONE. 29 

Two years passed, however, before he 
returned to North Carolina. Then his brother 
with his family, Daniel's family and five other 
families, set out for the Kentucky home. 

They brought five horses loaded with 
household goods, and three cows. Forty other 
men afterwards joined them. They were 
sure so large a company could protect them- 
selves from the Indians ; and so felt happy 
and secure. 

But alas ! even before they had reached 
their new home, the red men fell upon them, 
and a fierce battle followed. 

Several of the white people were slain ; 
and all were discouraged. " Let us go no 
farther," they said, '' into the wilderness. Let 
us return." 

So they returned to a settlement on the 
Clinch river in Virginia, and Daniel Boone 
went and lived there with them. 



30 DANIEL BOONE. 

He stayed only a few months, for the 
governor of Virginia sent him back into 
Kentucky to find some surveyors of a com- 
pany that had been sent out there. No 
sooner had Daniel again returned than a 
company, called the Transylvania Company, 
was formed to purchase Kentucky from the 
Indians who claimed it. 

They wished to make a settlement out 
there, and they knew no one braver than 
Boone to place in charge of the party. 

.. It was dangerous business. They had to 
make a roadway through the wilderness, but 
Boone gladly set out. When they reached 
the Kentucky river, they began building a 
fort. Three times the savages attacked them, 
and each time some of the white men were 
killed. 



THE NEW HOME. 

But Daniel Boone was not the man to 
be driven back. The fort was raised, pali- 
sades constructed ; and not until all was done 
did Boone return to his home on the Clinch. 

The settlement was named Boonesboro, 
in honor of its daring" leader; and, by and 
by, Daniel and his family moved out to it, 
brin<j^in^' many other families with them. 

The new colony prospered. In a year 
there were three hundred people living there. 
For a long time there had been- no trouble 
with the Indians. The people were begin- 
nincr to think there would be no trouble with 



them ever again. 



31 



DANIEL BOONE. 33 

But one day when three young girls 
were rowing in a canoe in the river, the red 
men sprang out from the reeds along the 
bank, and dragged the canoe to the opposite 
shore. 

The girls screamed for help, and were 
heard at the fort. 

Men came running down to the water, but 
it was too late. One of the girls was a 
daughter of Boone ; and when he came in at 
night from hunting in the forests, the people 
rushed out to tell him. . 

Daniel Boone did not even stop to lay 
down his gun. " Come with me," he said 
to the men. And away they went to try 
to find the three captives. For days they 
traveled through the forests. It was night 
when, at last, Boone and one companion, who 
had hurried on ahead, reached the Indian 



34 DANIEL BOONE. 

camp. There the three girls lay asleep, two 
Indians watching over them. 

Bang ! bang ! went rifles from out of the 
forests. Two Indians fell. The other Indians 
were too frightened to move. 

Bang ! bang ! bang ! Again the bullets 
whizzed through the air. Then in rushed 
Boone's friends. At sight of them, the Indians 
yelled and ran. They forgot everything in 
their fright. So the white men had only to 
untie the three girls and return to their camp. 

There was great rejoicing when the party 
came back safe again. 

But the Indians were very angry at the 
loss of their three captives. They meant to 
keep them for slaves. 

Every little while they would make some 
attack upon the village. They did not harm 
the people very much, for sentinels were 



DANIEL BOONE. 



always on the watch. But one night they 
burst upon Boonesboro, meaning to destroy 
it. There was a large number of the Indians, 
and they attacked the little settlement on all 
sides at one time. 

It was a hot fight, but the savages were 
driven off at last, and for a whole year made 
no further trouble for the white men. 

It was in the winter of 1777 and 1778 
that the little colony exhausted their supply 
of salt. They could not live without salt. 
They could not preserve their meats. Salt 
they must have. 

And so Boone with thirty men started 
out to Licking Creek. Here there were some 
salt springs. They obtained the salt by boiling 
the water of the springs in large kettles. But 
they had not been long at work, before they 
were attacked by the Indians. 



DANIEL BOONE. 37 

Again Boone was taken prisoner. He 
knew the little party at the creek could not 
protect themselves against so many Indians. 
So he pretended to be pleased that he had 
fallen into the hands of these Indians. He 
complimented them on their fine village and 
their handsome warriors. He feigned great 
interest in their ways of hunting and fish- 
ing. He tried to do everything he saw them 
do, till the Indians wxre so delighted with 
him that they decided to adopt him. 

This was better than being killed, cer- 
tainly. So Boone stood as still as a tree 
while the red men oiled him and painted 
him and stuck feathers in his hair. 

Then they danced and whooped ; for this 
was the way they always did when they 
adopted any one into their tribe. 

All this Boone pretended to enjoy very 



38 DANIEL BOONE. 

much. He, too, danced and whooped, till the 
Indians were sure he would make a fine warrior. 

When the ceremony was over, Boone 
said, '' Come now, let us go find my com- 
panions. Let us take them prisoners and 
carry them to the British camp. The British 
will take care of them." 

So the Indians led Boone to his com- 
panions. He gave the white men a sign to 
do whatever he told them to do. 

The men did not know what it all meant ; 
but they knew it must be all right. So they 
allowed themselves to be taken by the savages 
and carried to the British camp. 

In this way Boone saved his own life and 
the lives of his companions. 

The British were willing to send the 
other men back to Boonesboro, but Boone 
they wished to keep in their own camp. 



Dx\NIEL BOONE. 3<j 

'' No, no," the Indians said, " he belongs 
to us." And Boone was marched back to 
the home of the Indians. 

Poor Boone ! his heart was very heavy. 
He longed to get back to his own people at 
Boonesboro. 

But he was too wise to show that he 
was unhappy. He pretended that he was 
glad to go back with the Indians. And when 
he reached their village, he began at once 
to make friends with all the people. 

He taught them many things ; he told 
them wonderful stories ; he danced and sang 
with them. 

By and by, they began to trust him to 
go out to hunt. At first they watched him. 
Boone knew they would, so he made no 
attempt to escape. 

They then gave up watching him, but 



40 DAN I EI. BOONE. 

they counted the shot they gave him. Then 
when he came in from the hunt, they would 
count the game and expect him to bring 
back the right amount of shot. 

But Boone soon learned to cut the little 
bullets in halves, and so make one bullet 
shoot two birds. 

In this way he was soon able to hide 
away a great deal of shot for his own use 
later on. 



DANIEL BOONE'S ESCAPE. 

One ni^^ht, when Boone came in from a 
hunt, he found five hundred warriors in the 
village from a neighboring tribe. 

They were covered with war paint, and 
they had their tomahawks and scalping knives. 
They were on their way to Boonesboro. 
They had come to join Boone's tribe ; then 
they would attack the fort together. 

Boone pretended not to notice what they 
said. He pretended to be too tired to talk. 
But. when the Indians were asleep, he started 
out from his wigwam. He crawled through 
the high grass until he was out of sight- 
Then he ran. 

On, on he w^ent, till he reached at last 

41 



42 DANIEL BOONE. 

the Ohio river. '' If I only can cross it," 
he said, '' I shall feel safe." 

Boone dreaded the swift river, for he could 
not swim very well. But when he reached 
the shore, there lay an old canoe. It was 
leaky, for there was a big break in one side. 

But Boone soon mended this and pad- 
dled across. Then how he ran ! He did not 
stop to eat or sleep. And at the end of the 
fifth day, the brave man staggered into the 
fort, half dead. 

All he could say was, "The Indians are 
coming! the Indians are coming!" 

As soon as he was able, Boone called 
the men together. 

He put the fort in order and made the 
defences stronger. Then with a brave little 
band he started out. 

On the banks of a river he came upon 



DANIEL BOONE. 43 

a band of fifty Indian warriors sound asleep. 
These he put to rout, and then hurried on. 
Soon he came upon the main body — five 
hundred of them. 

These he learned were on the way to 
Boonesboro. Of course it was useless to 
attack so large a number; so he crept back 
to the fort and made it ready for their com- 



mit:. 



These five hundred men were in charge 
of a British officer; for this was during the 
Revolution ; and the Ikitish, you know, often 
joined with the Indians against the colonists. 

At last, the five hundred Indians reached 
the fort. 

'' We demand surrender," said the British 
commander. 

'* You must fight for it, then," answered 
Boone ; and the battle began. 







GOOD SHOT. 



DANIEL BOONE. 45 

For hours the bullets flew fast and thick. 
But little harm was done the fort ; for many 
of the bullets lodged in the hard wood pali- 
sades. 

Then the Indians tried to fire the build- 
ings ; but water was plentiful, and again they 
failed. 

Then they tried to dig a tunnel under- 
ground, but the pioneers saw what they were 
doing ; for the soil they dug out made the 
water of the river muddy. 

Then Boone began, too, to make a mine, 
throwing the soil out over the palisades. 
The Indians did not like this. They, too, 
were in danger; and so in a few more days 
they gave up the siege and went back to 
their own villages. 

While Boone had been in the village of 
the Indians, his family had gone back to their 



46 DANIEL BOONE. 

old home in North Carolina. Mrs. Boone 
believed he. had been killed by the savages, 
and, so, longed to go back to her father's 
home. 

As soon, then, as the siege was over, 
Boone set out for North Carolina, to find 
his family and show them he was still alive. 

It was some little time before he brought 
his family back to Kentucky, for there were 
all kinds of errands to be done for the 
people of Boonesboro. 

One wanted a cow bought for him ; 
another wanted a horse ; there were nails and 
carpenters tools to be bought, and lead for 
shot. 

At last, all these were collected. But 
besides this, Boone had a great deal of money. 
This money he was carrying to the pioneers 
from their friends in the east. This money 



DANIEL BOONE. 47 

he had stored away in his boots, and he 
supposed no one knew that he had it. 

But some one did know ; for when he 
had reached the densest part of the wilder- 
ness, out sprang some Indians upon him, 
shouting '' The wampum ! the wampum ! " 

It was useless to struggle — one man 
against so many, and he gave up the money. 

A sad, sad man was he when he dragged 
himself and his family into the fort. He 
told his story to the people; then sat down 
and buried his face in his hands. 

• But saddest of all was this. Brave and 
upright as he had always been, there were a 
few who believed Daniel Boone had hidden 
the money. 

'' This," Boone used to say, " was the 
hardest trial I ever had to bear." 

But these foolish people did not believe 



48 DANIEL BOONE, 

ill of Boone very long. . He was too honest 
in his life, and too ready always to do for 
his people all that could be done. The few 
who had spoken evil of him grew to be 
ashamed of what they had said. 

Soon after his return to the fort, Boone 
and his brother started out alone to the 
place where they had set up the salt works. 

Just as they were beginning to work 
Indians sprang upon them from an ambush. 
Boone's brother they shot down ; but while 
they were whooping and yelling over their 
victory, Boone escaped. For two days and 
two nights he ran this way and that, trying 
to escape the pursuing savages. 

Once their dogs were close upon him. 

Ouick as a flash he seized the hio[-h 
branch of a tree, sprang into the air, and 
let it swing him far out over a bank. 



DANIEL BOONE. 



49 



On, on, came the dogs, their noses close 
down to the earth. But when they reached 
the tree, the trail was lost. 

They ran round and round. Then they 
ran, yelping, back to their masters. Rut in 
all this time Boone had gained a mile upon 
them, and so at last reached the fort airain 
in safety. 





DANIEL BOONE. 



COLONEL BOONE. 

By and by, there were so many pioneers 
in Kentucky, that they asked for military 
protection. 

The governor of Virginia sent out mili- 
tary forces. The pioneers themselves formed 
a military company, and Daniel Boone was 
placed at the head. 

** He deserves the honor," said the gov- 
ernor, '' for he founded the first settlement ; 
he has protected it for years ; and he is the 
bravest pioneer in Kentucky." 

Daniel Boone — now Colonel Boone — 
sent Simon Kenton out as a spy. These 
pioneers had to keep spies always on the 
watch ; for the Indians were likely at any 

51 



52 DANIEL liOONE. 

time to burst out from the forests and attack 
the white settlements. 

Now, the British had learned to dread 
Boone. They knew he was the leader in all 
battles. They knew, too, that they could never 
destroy Boonesboro till he was captured. 

He understood the ways of the Indians, 
and so, was always more than a match for 
them. 

Still, the Indians were always lurking in 
the forests. The British had told them to 
keep on the watch. They had offered the 
savages great rewards if they would bring 
the scalp of Colonel Boone to their camp. 

One day Kenton took his gun early in 
the morning and went out to shoot. Just 
as he left the fort, he saw two Indians 
spring out from the forest and attack two 
white men. 



54 DANIEL BOONE. 

One of them they killed; Kenton raised 
his rifle and shot the Indian dead. Then he 
pursued the others. 

Boone heard the shots and rushed rut 
from the fort with ten other men. They saw 
in an instant that there was trouble ; they, 
too, raised their rifles and ran with Kenton 
after the red men. 

Boone did not know there were so many 
Indians in the fight, for they hid themselves 
in the tall grass. 

But as soon as they were well away from 
the fort, the savages sprang out. And before 
Boone knew it, he was surrounded by them 
on all sides. 

*' Charge !" shouted Boone, and bang went 
the rifles of every man. One second, and a 
volley of shot poured from the rifles of the 
red men. 



DANIEL BOONE. 55 

Six of the ten men dropped wounded ; 
and Boone himself fell, his leg broken, and 
his arm badly hurt. 

The Indians gave a yell of delight, and 
sprang towards him. One Indian had already 
seized him by the hair and was flourishing 
his scalping knife. 

Kenton saw this, and fired. His 
rifle never failed, and the savage fell back 
dead. Then Kenton seized Boone by the 
arms, threw him over his strong shoulders, 
and ran with him towards the fort. The 
other men held the savages at bay till the 
f( t was reached ; and then, when the Indians 
knew they had lost Boone, they ran away into 
the forests. 

You may be sure Boone never forgot 
his debt to Kenton. They were life-long 
friends. And when, by and by, they both 



56 



DANIEL BOONE. 



died, they were buried in the same burial 
ground. If you should visit Kentucky to-day, 
you would see the stones that mark their 



graves. 




BRYAN STATION. 

Not very far from Boonesboro was 
another colony. This was settled by three 
of Mrs. Boone's brothers, James, William, 
and Daniel Bryan. It was called, " Bryan's 
Station." 

One morning five hundred Indians, led 
by a cruel white man — an exile and an 
outcast — fell upon this little settlement. 

There were only fifty men in the camp, 
and the fort was not in good condition. The 
savages knew this, and chose their time. 

The attack began first with twenty 
Indians who ran ahead and fired into the 
fort. 

57 



58 DANIEL BOONE. 

The pioneers were taken by surprise. 
For a second, they were panic stricken. Then 
they rallied. Every man was a hero. They 
took their places at the walls, ready to 
fire at the first red man that dared show 
himself. 

Three men crept out from the fort and 
crawled through the grass and ran for help. 

Soon the twenty Indians appeared again. 
They fired one volley, then ran again into 
the forests. In this way, they hoped to draw 
the men out from the fort. The rest of the 
five hundred kept themselves hidden. 

''We know your plan," said the leader 
inside the fort ; " but we fall not into your 
trap." 

Now the spring, from which the people 
of the settlement drew their water, was out- 
side the fort. This was unfortunate, for 



DANIEL BOONE. 59 

water must be had, especially if the fort was 
to be besieged. 

'' What shall we do ? " the men asked of 
each other. 

'' Let the women bring" the water," said 
one old lady. "The Indians would be more 
likely to let us go unharmed. They could 
have no object in attacking us. It is the 
fort they want." 

For a moment the women held back.- 
Mothers clasped their children close to their 
hearts and wept. 

** Let me go alone," said the old lady 
again, ''perhaps it would be just as well. 
Then, too, it would not matter if I were 
killed. For I am e^ettin^ old and am not of 
much use to you here." 

But at this, twenty women sprang to 
their feet. '' Let you eo out into danofer 



fe 



alone ! Never ! " they said. 



DANIEL BOONE. 61 

Then each took a bucket, and together 
they went out to the spring. 

Their hearts beat hard, and many a face 
was w^hite with fear. But they went out 
bravely, laughing and talking, and pretending 
to have no fear. 

The savages lay everywhere concealed 
in the grass. They saw the women come 
and go ; but made no attempt to harm them. 

'' Now we are ready for a siege, if there 
must be one," said the men. 

Then thirteen men were sent out to 
draw the Indians on to battle. '' If there 
must be a battle, let us have it now," 
the captain thought. 

As soon as the thirteen men from the 
fort appeared, the Indians retreated. They 
wanted to draw them into the forest. Then 
they could surround them and kill them all. 



g2 DANIEL BOONE. 

Besides, they supposed these thirteen men 
were all there were in the fort. 

When the Indians had drawn these 
thirteen away, the white leader crept up 
towards the fort. He thought he could take 
it easily now. 

But when he drew near, out blazed 
thirty-five rifles at him. Several Indians fell 
dead. Then came another volley ! Another 
and another! The savages ran for their 
lives. 

The little party who were attacking the 
thirteen fled too. Then the thirteen came 
back to the fort. 

They closed the gates and prepared for 



a siege. 



The Indians and their white leader crept 
back soon. They hid in the grass and 
waited. The men in the fort knew they were 



DANIEL BOONE. 63 

there, for every now and then they would 
shoot at the fort. 

But ah'eady help was coming. The men, 
who had crept out from the fort to go for 
help, had reached the other settlements in safety. 

Fifty horsemen rode up to the fort. 
The men in the fort could not give them 
warning; and before they knew that the 
Indians were in the grass, out came a 
volley of shot upon them. 

The men in the fort threw open the 
gates and the horsemen rushed in. Not a 
man was killed, but several were wounded. 

The white leader of the Indians was 
angry enough that he had lost the fort. He 
knew well enough it was useless to attempt 
battle now. 

So he climbed upon a stump and made 
a speech to the people in the fort. 



64 



DANIEL BOONE 



It was a very wonderful speech, no doubt; 
but it did not scare the pioneers. 

They only laughed at him and told him 
to bring on his savages and they would whip 
them all. 

The white leader saw he could not 
frighten the pioneers, so he crept back into 
the grass. The next morning he had dis- 
appeared and taken his savages with him. 




AN AMBUSCADE. 

News of the attack on Bryan Station 
had spread from colony to colony. Each 
colony sent men to the rescue ; and on the 
next morning one hundred and eighty men 
had come to the station. 

Among- these was Daniel Boone. " Let 
us pursue these Indians," said the men. 
'* We may overtake and surprise them." 

'' I do not believe it will be wise," said 
Boone. 

'' But the trail is easy to follow," said 
the men. '' Everywhere are signs of the route 
they have taken. The grass is trodden down, 
trees are broken, and even old coats are 
lying in the bushes. 



65 



6G DANIEL BOONE. 

''That is just why I think it would not 
be wise to pursue them ;" said Boone, " Indians 
know better than to leave their tracks like 
that." 

'' Perhaps they forgot, in their hurry," 
said one. 

'' Indians never forget," answered Boone. 
" And you may be sure they have done this 
simply to decoy us. They think we shall 
follow, because the trail is so plain. Then 
they will hide themselves and wait for us. 
Before we know it, we shall be in a trap." 

But the men would not listen to Boone. 
They were eager for battle, and so pushed ahead. 

They marched for seven miles before an 
Indian showed himself at all. 

At Licking Creek a few were prowling 
around. Never had a trail been so easy to 
follow. 



DANIEL BOONE. 67 

'' What if Boone was right," one man 
whispered. 

" I half believe he was," whispered 
another. 

''What do you think of it now, Boone?" 
asked the commander. 

" I think we are near an ambuscade," 
answered Boone coolly. " The Indians are in 
that ravine yonder, or I don't know Indians! 
Whatever else we do, we must not cross this 
river. 

" Nonsense ! " cried the leader. And 
turning- his horse, he galloped down the 
banks of the river, shouting, " Come on ! 
come on ! All who are not cowards, come 
on ! " 

Down the bank the whole company 
rushed, after their hot-headed leader. Boone's 
heart sank, but he followed on. 



G8 DANIEL BOONE. 

Hardly had they shaken themselves dry 
on the other side of the river, when out 
blazed the rifles of the red men. 

There they were, as Boone had said. 
Snap ! snap ! snap ! w^ent their rifles. Five 
hundred of them ! The savages were every- 
where ! In the grass, in the trees, behind 
the rocks ! 

The white men had ridden into a net. 
Most bravely they fought, Boone in the very 
front ; but it was a terrible battle. The 
white men fell in tens and twenties. At last, 
the few that were left, turned and fled. They 
hurried back to the station, lest the Indians 
should again attack the fort. 

Then Boone wrote a long letter to the 
governor of Virginia, begging him to send 
them help. The Indians meant mischief, 
there could be no doubt. 



DANIEL BOONE. 



69 



The Kentuckians formed themselves into 
an army and went up and down the country, 
trying everywhere to beat back the savages. 

It was a terrible year. The Indians 
were maddened and the British were ahvays 
ready to urge them on. It was 1782, the 
darkest year in the history of Kentucky. 




TMf 



k ^ c 




^■'M 



*« 

^'-m' 



'- J. 




DANIEL BOONE'S LAST YEARS. 

But at last, the war between the British 
and the colonists came to an end. 7^he 
British gave up their stations in the w^est 
and went back to England. 

The Indians could not fight so wc\\ now. 
They did not know how to plan their attacks. 
They were not so bold, and the pioneers could 
manage them easily. 

The people began to come from the east 
to Kentucky. Hundreds and hundreds of 
families came. By and by, there were so 
many people they called themselves a state. 
They chose a capital. Each man had his 
own land where he raised corn and tobacco, 
and traded it for goods from the east. 



72 DANIEL BOONE. 

Daniel Boone built a comfortable home 
for himself, and meant to spend the rest of 
his life in quiet. 

But, by and by, speculators came out to 
Kentucky and began to buy up the land. 

They saw that Boone's land was good, 
and so first tried to buy it of him. 

'' I do not care to sell," he said ; '' my 
family is comfortable, and we are content to 
stay here." 

But the speculators were determined to 
have his land. They asked him to show the 
deeds. Boone brought them forth ; but the 
sharp men soon saw that they were not 
carefully made out. The lawyer who had 
made them had been careless. He thought 
it didn't matter out there in the wilderness. 

And so Daniel Boone lost his land. It 
was a cruel thing to do to this man who had 
fought so bravely for Kentucky. 



DANIEL BOONE. 73 

But the men did not care. They took 
the land, and Boone went back to Virginia. 

Boone's son, meantime, had gone to 
Missouri. And when his father lost his home, 
he sent for him to come to him in the new 
state. Daniel went, and it was there he spent 
the rest of his life. 

But the Kentucky people never forgot 
the founder of their state. And if you should 
visit Frankfort, Kentucky, to-day, you would 
find there a fine monument, upon which is 
carved four pictures of Indian battles, and 
beneath them the name of Daniel Boone. 



rW[,liir^|f,,lii1ffP| 







THOMAS JEFFERSON. 



MERIWETHER LEWIS AND 
WILLIAM CLARK. 

When Jefferson became President of 
the United States, he made up his mind to 
know more of this broad country. 

'* We are only living along the coast of 
it as yet," he said. '' There is a rich country 
beyond the Alleghanies ; but we have hardly 
crossed them to see. 

'' There must be great rivers. There 
^ must be wide plains and rich lands for 
farming. 

''To be sure we have long owned the 
land as far as the Mississippi ; but we know 
nothing about it. And as to the land beyond 
the Mississippi, not even our few traders 
dare cross into its forests." 

75 



LEWIS AND CLARK. 



So, first of all, Jefferson set to work, far- 
seeing man that he was, to buy the land 
beyond the Mississippi from the French who 
claimed it, under the name of Louisiana. 

Now the French, since they owned the 
land beyond the Mississippi, had, of course, 
the right to sail up and down the river with 
their canoes, establishing trading stations, 
that they might carry on fur trade with the 
Indians. This commerce Jefferson wanted to 
bring under control of the United States. 
And so, in 1804, he succeeded in making 
satisfactory terms with France, and the land 
west of the Mississippi became the property 
of our people. 

" Now^ we are indeed a great country," 
said Jefferson. '' Our land stretches from 
ocean to ocean. We have homes for all who 
will come to our shores ; and we shall some- 



LEWIS AND CLARK. 



time be, perhaps, the greatest among nations." 

Now Jefferson was a man of action. 
Therefore when the land was once the prop- 
erty of the United States, he appointed two 
men — Lewis and Clark — to explore it. 

Now, we sometimes think that all the 
exploring was done in the times of De vSoto 
and La Salle ; but this is not so. 

It is hard for us to understand it ; but 
w^hen in 1804 — only about ninety years ago — 
these two brave men set out, there was just as 
much danger and hardship before them as 
ever there had been in the days of De Soto 
and La Salle. 

The forests were just as dense. The 
Indians quite as likely to prove unfriendly; 
the swamps and morasses were just as 
treacherous. 

The great rivers of the far west were all 



T^^^^^s^l^' 




LEWIS AND CLARK. 



unknown ; and as to distances and directions, 
these men knew no more than had those 
daring men that followed Columbus. Often 
they would wander into dense wildernesses, 
from which it was almost impossible to es- 
cape. They could neither go on nor retreat, 
such was the danger before them and behind. 
Often they would travel for days along a 
trail, only to come in the end to some in- 
surmountable mountain range, or some river 
unsafe to cross by boat and impossible to 
ford. 

Still, knowing that all these things must 
be, Lewis and Clark set out, commissioned 
by Jefferson, to explore the new country and 
make a report to the government of all that 
happened to them. 

St. Louis was then the most prosperous 
trading station ; and the government had 



80 LEWLS AND CLARK. 

hopes that some direct route might be dis- 
covered from that station to the Pacific. 

Full directions were given the two 
explorers, and with boats laden with presents 
for the possibly hostile Indians, they set out. 

First, they were to visit the Indians up 
and down the western bank of the river, tell 
them of the change in ownership, and with 
presents and promises for the future, win 
their good will and co-operation. 

Of course, no one could forsee whether 
the Indians would be friendly or hostile. 
Neither was it known what dangers might 
await them in attempting to ascend the 
restless, rushing Missouri. 

First of all, a keel boat, fifty-five feet 
long, not drawing more than three feet of 
water, was made at Pittsburg, for the 
explorers. 



LEWIS AND CLARK. 81 

It was an odd looking boat, to be sure — 
not unlike the old Greek galleys — with its 
large, square sail and its places for twenty- 
two oarsmen. There was a half deck at the 
bow and another at the stern ; and these 
formed the cabins. Between the cabins was 
the space where the twenty-two oarsmen sat. 
I Two other smaller boats, propelled by oars 
, only, were provided by the government, and 
, with these the explorers prepared to set sail. 
Twenty-five brave men were selected by 
Lewis and Clark; the smaller boats were 
^ loaded with coffee, sugar, crackers, dried meats, 
carpenter tools, and all manner of bright- 
colored objects for presents to be distributed 
among the Indians. 
' A few horses, even, were made room for 

on the large boat ; and so, heavily laden, the 
! little exploring party set off, down the Ohio, 



82 LEWIS AND CLARK. 

into the Mississippi, stopping first at the 
French village, St. Louis. 

Here at St. Louis, the leaders found it 
quite necessary to remain until definite 
knowledge of the tribes up and down the 
river could be gathered. Twenty more men 
joined the expedition, and on the 4th of Ma}, 
1804, the explorers left St. Louis, and really 
embarked upon the dangerous journey, mak- 
ing, that night, their first encampment on the 
banks of the unknown Missouri. 

It was very slow — their ascent of the 
river — for the current, always turbulent, was 
now swollen with the heavy spring rains, and 
often whole trees would come crashing down 
the stream ; or the bank, giving way, would 
fall across the river, helping to catch and 
bank up the drifting debris that came down 
/ with the current. 



LEWIS AND CLARK. 83 

From time to time, the men were forced 
to fasten their boats securely, lest they be 
crushed and carried down the stream ; mean- 
while they set to work to clear the river. 

For a while they dared not advance 
in the darkness, lest some tree come crash- 
ing down upon them ; nor was it always 
possible to guide the boats in the mighty 
whirlpools, even under the full light of the day. 

At the mouth of the Osage, the party 
at last decided to encamp and send out 
parties to explore the interior. 

Up the Osage, lived the Osage Indians, 
a tribe particularly strong, and fierce, and 
warlike, and having a reputation for hostility, 
against all white men. 

Therefore, the arms and ammunition of 
the little party were carefully examined before 
the men went into the forest. 



84 LEWIS AND CLARK. 

It was a land rich in timber, they found 
here. There were oak and ash, hickory and 
black walnut, — large old trees — for these 
forests had stood undisturbed throughout 
centuries. 

On the fourth of June, the party returned, 
bringing with them ten deer, which were 
most welcome to the taste of the explorers, 
after living one month on dried meats. The 
cook prepared a great feast upon the bank 
of the Missouri, at the mouth of the Osage, 
and the hungry men, forgetful for the time 
of all dangers, feasted right merrily. 

On the next day, they started on up the 
Missouri. Very, very slowly they were forced 
to make their way, so wild was the current. 
First, they met some French canoes, loaded 
with furs. 

"These," said the Frenchmen, ''we bought 



LEWIS AND CLARK. 85 

from Indians up the river." And later 
another party of Frenchmen was met, their 
canoes loaded also with furs ; bought too, of 
the Indians up the river. 

But one day, the boats swung into a 
narrow bend in the river. Here the current 
rushed and seethed, driven on through the 
strait by the great mass of waters from 
behind. 

In the midst of the stream, whirling and 
swirling, lay a great raft of driftwood. Clark 
stood at the helm when the great mass, 
sweeping through the strait, bore down upon 
the large boat. ''To the oars! to the oars ! 
to the oars ! " he shouted. One instant, and 
every man was in his place. 

'' Back her ! back her ! " thundered the 
captain. Every man strained to his utmost! 
Then the stern caught fast. '' Pull ! pull ! 



86 LEWIS AND CLARK. 

pull ! " the captain thundered again. And the 
men did pull. 

Bang against the side of the boat came 
the raft, raking the sides from end to end. 
For a moment the oarsmen on that side 
were powerless. The boat swung across the 
stream. It tossed and careened. But with 
a great, strong, long pull, the men wrenched 
the stern from its entanglement ; the boat 
righted itself, and again rode free. 

'' Bravo ! " shouted Clark. All felt much 
relieved; for had the boat been wrecked, they 
must have made their way back to Pittsburg, 
and the expedition would thus have been a 
failure. 

But now a great wind arose. It swept 
down the river and across the prairies like 
a mighty tempest. The waters rose like 
ocean waves ; the wind roared, and the forests 



LEWIS AND CLARK. 87 

creaked. This was a western gale — a prairie 
sweep — the first one these eastern explorers 
had known. 

With much difficulty they anchored their 
boats. Then, making their way to the shores, 
they threw up enough shelter and encamped 
for the night. All night long the wolves 
howled and the panthers yelled ; but sentinels 
kept guard and the weary men slept. 

The next morning broke clear and bright. 
At sunrise the explorers were awake and 
ready to set out again on the river. All 
day long they sailed, meeting with no adven- 
ture till near the evening. Then they met 
a fleet of canoes loaded with furs and pelt- 
ries which the Frenchmen were carrying to 
St. Louis from the camps of the Sioux 
Indians farther up the river. 

Together the explorers and the French- 



( 

88 LEWIS AND CLARK. 

men encamped, and all night long they talked 
of their plans. The French were kindly, and 
Lewis and Clark gained much information 
regarding the country and the savage tribes 
that dwelt along the river banks. One 
Frenchman, who understood well the Indian 
language, they induced to join the explor- 
ing party, and act for them as interpreter. 

But they had come now upon a grove 
of oak and hickory. 

" Let us stop here and make new oars 
from the wood of these strong old trees," 
said the oarsmen. And, indeed, there was 
need for new oars ; for in the river collision, 
many had been broken and others had been 
strained and wrenched. 

So the little company encamped again — 
this time for several days. And while the 
oarsmen worked at the oars and upon the 



LEWIS AND CLARK. 89 

boats, the hunters scoured the country for 
game. 

Each night they came in with fish and 
fowl ; and once with deer and bear. 

From these the explorers had another 
feast, and when the feast was over, there was 
still an abundance of meat to prepare and 
store away for future use. There seemed 
now little danger of starving, whatever else 
the future might hold for them. 

At last the oars were made, and all 
injuries to the boat repaired. Then the little 
company set forth again. For a day or two 
all went well ; then a sudden rise in the 
river tide, and the rushing current again came 
down upon them. 

Every man strained at the oars. For 
hours they worked against the current. To 
anchor was impossible; for even the heaviest 



90 LEWIS AND CLARK. 

anchors dragged. Faster and faster the rush- 
ing current poured down upon them. Not 
only was progress impossible, but in spite 
of all effort, the boat was drifting down the 
river. 

'' This will never do," said Clark. 

" We shall find ourselves back at the 
mouth of the Missouri," said Lewis. 

'' We must pull the boat along till we 
pass these rapids," said the captain. 

So a great cable was fastened through 
the boat, the ends reaching from bank to 
bank. 

Then the men rowed to the shores, and 
running with the great cable, pulled the boat 
up the stream. 

For a whole mile they had pulled, when 
the keel scraped upon a sand bar just at a 
turn in the river. 



LEWIS AND CLARK. 91 

'' A sand bar ! a sand bar ! " shouted the 
captain ; for his trained ear knew well the 
sound of the grating keel. 

'^ Pull ! pull ! pull ! " 

Then the strong men pulled. With all 
their strength, and with all their will, they 
pulled. 

But the fates were for the time against 
them ; the cable snapped, and the great boat, 
nearly stranded, fell upon its side. 

Then the great mast swayed to and 
fro. It snapped and fell, and lay dragging 
the boat over still more upon its side. All 
this time the wnnd was rising, and the fury 
of the tempest increasing. 

'' It's an ill wind that blows no good," 
said one of the men ; for already the water 
was rising, driven on by the great force 
behind and by the rushing wind; and with 



92 LEWIS AND CLARK. 

the bursting of one great wave over the sand 
bar, the boat lurched, righted itself, and was 
again free. 

Then the men cut away the mast, and 
fastening the boat until the hurricane was 
over, encamped till they were able to push 
their way on again up the river. 

For three or four days after this, they 
sailed on in peace and quiet. Then they 
reached the mouth of the Kansas. 

''This is a river of importance," Clark 
and Lewis said ; so the company encamped 
again, and one party was sent to explore, 
while another was sent to hunt for game. 

Four deer and two wolves were brought 
in ; and one day the hunters snared a great 
wood rat — of a kind never seen before by 
these explorers. 

It was late in July when at last they 



LEWIS AND CLARK. 93 

reached the mouth of the Platte. There were 
Indians here, and Lewis and Clark sent out 
a party to find them. 

The Frenchman went with them and 
strove to make them understand that no 
longer were they to obey the King of France, 
but that the Great Father at Washington 
had bought the w^hole vast territory from 
France, and that henceforth all Indians west 
of the Mississippi were to look to this Great 
Father for protection. 

The red men seemed consented with the 

- change, and the chiefs came and sat in coun- 
cil with Lewis and Clark, beneath the great 

, bluffs over against where the city of Omaha 
now stands. 

After a long council, and the exchange 

I of many gifts, the peace pipe was smoked, 

j the place was named Council Bluffs, and the 




THE MEETING WITH THE INDIANS. 



LEWIS AND CLARK. 95 

white men, glad that their first meeting with 
the savages of the forests had ended so 
successfully, again set forth up the river. 

It was, to them, a wonderful country they 
were now passing through. From the high 
bluffs they had looked out upon the vast 
prairie reaching in all directions, like a great 
sea, from horizon to horizon. 

These plains were treeless and grassy, 
and great herds of buffalo roamed up and down 
them. But the explorers were now coming 
into the region of Dakota, where dwelt many 
savages not as peaceful nor as kindly dis- 
posed toward the white men as had been 
the tribe on the Platte. 

At once, councils were held, and the 
Indians were given presents. Still, for some 
reason, the red men seemed dissatisfied ; and 
once, when the explorers were about to return 



*^- 










BUFFALO ON THE PLAINS. 



LEWrS AND CLARK. 97 

to their camp, they seized the cable and would 
not allow the boat to push out. 

'' Aim ! " said Lewis coolly. " Aim ! but 
do not fire." 

In an instant every rifle was pointed 
towards the savages. 

'' We mean no harm," said they, drop- 
ping the cable and moving back. '' It is 
only that we wish to trade with you still 
more." 

But the explorers deemed it wiser to 
move away, and so the boat was rowed rapidly 
up the river. 

The Indians followed on, however, along 
the bank of the river, calling to the white 
men, and telling them that there were other 
tribes farther inland that wished to talk with 
them. But the more earnest the invitations, 
the more worth while it seemed to the white 



98 LEWIS AND CLARK. 

men to paddle along in the middle of the 
river. 

But all this time the summer had been 
passing; autumn, too, had come and gone; 
and already the cold winter was settling down. 
The trees were bare, the foi*ests were heavy, 
and more than once the river had crusted over. 

'' We must go into winter quarters," said 
Clark. So they selected an island in the 
territory of the Mandans, whom they had good 
reason to believe would be friendly, and built 
their winter quarters. 

Now^ in these days the art of making 
matches was quite unknown. The Indians, 
when they needed to strike a fire, did it by 
a most laborious process. 

They would take two sticks and rub them 
together till they were hot enough to catch 
fire from each other. 



LEWIS AND CLARK. 1)9 

The white man's way of striking fire 
was only a little less crude. He had learned 
that striking flint and steel together would 
produce a quick spark. Then, if this spark 
could fall upon some easily inflammable sub- 
stance, a blaze could be started. 

But if the sun was shining, there was an 
easier way still than this. The white man 
had learned to use a sunglass, for this, by 
concentrating the rays of light, would easily 
produce a blaze. 

The Indians, of course, knew nothing of 
the white man's way of making a fire. And 
so, when Captain Clark came into their wig- 
wam, and lighted his pipe with his sunglass, 
meaning to have a social smoke, the Indians 
looked on in terror. 

At first they only stared, eyes and mouth 
wide open. Then they gave a great whoop, 
and ran away into the forests. 



100 LEWIS AND CLARK. 

''What can the matter be7 " said Clark. 
'' I meant to smoke the peace pipe with 
them." 

'' I will find out," said the French inter- 
preter; and away he went in pursuit of them. 

Now, these Indians had never seen a 
white man before ; and it happened that when 
Clark first came into their village, he had 
raised his gun and shot down a wild goose. 

The Indians had not seen him approach- 
ing; but had only heard the report of his gun. 

What could it be ! They ran out from 
their wigwams to look. There was the smoke 
still in the air ; and there upon a rock sat a 
strange being, like no man they had ever 
seen before. 

Surely he had dropped from the sky! 
And the noise they had heard was the thunder 
that had sent him down ! 



LEWIS AND CLARK. 101 

No wonder the innocent red men were 
frightened. They ran back to their wigwams 
and drew together the skins that covered the 
doorways. They dared not look out. 

Then Clark, all unconscious of the panic 
he had produced, came up to the wigwam of 
the chief. 

He opened the door of the wigwam and 
looked in. There sat the chief trembling 
with fear, brave chief though he was. 

But Clark spoke kindly to him, and gave 
presents, so that, by and by, he grew less 
afraid. 

He was sure Clark was a spirit even 
now ; but he was a good spirit and meant 
no harm to the red men. 

But when he lighted his pipe with 
nothing! — that was more than they could 
believe even of a good spirit. Again panic 



%. 



MANDAN INDIANS. 



LEWIS AND CLARK. lO:} 

struck them, and away they fled whooping 
and yelling. 

It was a long time before they could 
be made to understand ; but when they did 
they were kind and friendly. They were 
willing to help the white men in their hunt- 
ing and in their building. They watched 
them in their cooking, and tried to cook their 
owm meats as they saw the white men do. 
They learned to make a quick fire with flint 
and steel, and were very proud that they 
had learned so many things that other Indians 
did not know. 

The winter was long and cold, but the 
time passed quickly. For often the Mandans 
would come into the white men's camp and 
tell most wonderful stories of their own 
people. 

" The Mandans," so they told the 'white 



104 LEWIS AND CLARK. 

men, *' will go down beneath the great lake 
to dwell by and by when they die ; for that 
was their original home. 

'' For long, long years the tribe dwelt 
there; but one day a brave chief climbed 
along the roots and up the trunk of a tall 
grapevine. 

'* He saw the light above and was sure 
that he had found a world most beautiful. 

'' Then he hurried back and told his 
people. Together they all climbed the grape- 
vine, and one half of them had already leaped 
out upon the earth. Then, alas, the grape- 
vine broke, and all the other Mandans fell 
back into their old home beneath the lake ; 
and so it was that the whole tribe, when, at 
last they should die, must go back to the 
original home of their people." 

So the winter passed. Often the white 



LEWIS ANT) CLARK. 105 

men had been cold and hungry; and often 
they had longed for a look into their 
comfortable homes far away beyond the 
Alleghanies. 

But they were not the men to turn back 
till their work was finished ; and so, when 
spring came again, and the river was clear 

I of ice, and there was no danger from floods, 

I they set out again. 

The Mandans had told them much of 
the country beyond. '' There were great 

■ mountains," they had said. '' And there was 

i 

S a great gorge, where a whole river plunged 
over the cliffs. It had a roar like thunder, 
and on the cliffs there was an eagle's nest. 
It was in the cottonwood, and in the very 
midst of the torrent." 

More and more difficult grew the journey 
up the river. The water was shallow here 



LEWIS AND CLARK. 107 

and there, and made its way over sharp and 
dangerous rocks. The cable was used often, 
and sometimes the boats could be guided 
among the rocks only by oars and long poles. 

At last, on the 26th of May, the Yellow- 
stone River was passed; and up against the sky 
rose the Rockies. The summits were covered 
with snow, even as the Mandans had said • 
and one day in June, behold — the cataract 
itself was heard roaring in the distance. 

Then Lewis started out. For hours he 
traveled, forcing his way through dense 
thickets and through treacherous waters. 

Louder and louder grew the roar ; and 
at last, climbing on a rocky hill, Lewis stood 
upon a high cliff and looked down upon the 
cataract, — the first white man who had ever 
looked upon this sublime sight! 

For thirteen miles — one tearing down 



108 LEWIS AND CLARK. 

upon another — with great areas of foaming 
rapids between — stretched these wonderful 
cascades of the Missouri. 

Awe struck, Lewis stood and looked ; 
for where on the whole earth is there a sight 
more grand ! 

Then Lewis went back to the boats. 
*Tt is worth all the suffering and all the 
danger to have seen such glory," he said; nor 
could any words describe it. 

The boats were brought up to the foot 
of the rapids ; and although it was full 
eighteen miles to safe waters again beyond 
the rapids, the men prepared to drag the 
boats by land around the falls. 

The horses, which they had brought from 
Pittsburg, had perished during the long winter; 
and there was no way to carry the boats but 
to build rough wagons, or construct rollers 
and so drag them overland. 



LEWIS AND CLARK. 109 

This the brave men did ; and with great 
cables dragged the boats along. This was a 
task most difficult ; and no one but men of 
heroic souls would have had the courage to 
attempt it. For we must not forget the con- 
dition of the country. To have pulled these 
great boats along a smooth road, by hand, 
would have been no small task; but here 
was all the roughness and wilderness of a 
forest, which in a thousand years had been 
unmolested. Trees had to be felled, thickets 
cleared, rocks dug out, and the soil levelled. 

But in spite of all this, the men were 
not discouraged. Rough carts with crude 
wheels were made ; the great boats were 
mounted, and some way — the men them- 
selves often wondered, years after, how they 
did it — the w^ork w^as accomplished. A 
month later the boats were relaunched, and 
the explorers again set sail up the river. 



110 LEWIS AND CLARK. 

But again they were brought to a halt. 
For hardly were they well on their way, 
when they found that again the river was 
unnavigable — at least by boats like these. 

Again they stopped, felled trees, and built 
new boats. This time the boats were only 
" dugouts ; " for such only could withstand 
the sharp rocks hidden everywhere beneath 
the water. 

In these, they paddled on, till at last they 
reached the deep five mile canyon. Never 
had they dreamed of such grandeur. For in 
some places the walls of the canyon are a 
thousand feet deep ; the cliffs are steep, the 
waters black and still. 

" The gate of the mountains!" they said; 
and almost without a word, they silently 
row^ed their boats through, and came out at 
last into the sunlight at the upper course of 
the river. 



LEWIS AND CLARK. Ill 

Taking the northern branch of the river 
— which they named the Jefferson — they 
found themselves at the foot of the first 
range of- the Rockies. 

Difficult as had been their journey up 
the river, the route ahead seemed more diffi- 
cult still. How were they to climb this 
rocky ridge ? Scouts were sent out, hoping 
that Indian guides might be found ; but 
though they traveled in all directions, no signs 
of Indian life could be found. 

To attempt to cross the ridges without 
guides would, they all knew, be mere fool- 
hardiness. 

''I will set out alone," said Lewis. ''It 
must be there are tribes somewhere about 
these mountains." 

And so, climbing the precipices, Lewis 
made his way to the crest of the ridge. 



w^ 




> ^.p 




liJ I 



LEWIS AND CLARK. li;3 

There, he could look down upon the wonder- 
ful valley on either side. 

At the western base flowed a river; 
and far up the river he could see the village 
of the Shoshones. These Lewis reached; and 
having made the red men presents, induced a 
few of them to return with horses to guide 
his people across the ridge. 

There was great rejoicing in the camp 
on the Jefferson when Lewis returned. At 
once they all set forth into the mountains. 
It was a most perilous journey; for the guides 
led them through deep canyons, along the 
edges of rocky precipices, always higher and 
higher, till at last the crest was reached, and 
the downward descent begun. This, if pos- 
sible, was more perilous still ; for so steep were 
the descents and so narrow the paths, that 
one misstep must have thrown both horse and 



K*- 



^. V^ 







~r 



/ 



LEWIS AND CLARK. 115 

rider down precipices thousands of feet deep. 
But the horses and the guides were well 
trained, and the mountains were familiar ; so 
no accidents happened, and the little party 
at last reached the valley safe and sound. 

One whole month had been spent in 
this journey; for on some days the roads were 
so blocked with snow or covered with ice, 
that no one dared trust the horses to make 
their way down the steep places. Often not 
more than five miles could be covered in a 
day ; and some days it was safe only to stop 
and camp. 

The winds blew, and it was bitter cold 
among the snow clad peaks. Hunting was 
impossible ; and only an occasional squirrel or 
hawk could be found; for there was little life 
at this altitude. 

A little dried meat and fish was all that 



IIG LEWIS AND CLARK. 

was left of the supplies they had brought, 
and the men were famishing. One by one, 
the horses died from exhaustion and lack of 
food ; and upon the flesh of these the starv- 
ing men seized with the fury of wild men or 
famishing beasts. There was nothing these 
men did not suffer during this terrible month 
in the mountains ; still their courage did not 
fail, and the brave leaders were ready always 
to cheer them on. 

Ragged, starving, ill, they came down into 
the village of the Indians. 

Here they rested, and made up a goodly 
supply of fish and game for their journey 
farther westward. Boats were built, and again 
the little party made their way up the rivers 
which we now call the Lewis and the Clark. 

From these they entered the Columbia. 
Fortunately, all along the way, they found 



LEW[S AND CLARK. 117 

tribes of Indians who were friendly, and 
willing always to supply them with fish. 

It w^as November again when they came 
at last into the broad, smooth Columbia that 
pours its flood into the Pacific. The cold, 
rainy season had already set in, and there 
was nothing to do but to again build cabins 
and encamp for the winter months. 

The second winter passed much as the 
first had passed. The Indians were friendly, 
and were willing always to guide the wdiite 
men tn their hunting expeditions. They 
gathered in the cabins during the long 
winter nights and told stories of their tribes 
and of the country round about, all of which 
Lewis and Clark wTote down in their long 
journals to carry back to the government at 
Washington. 

As soon, however, as signs of spring 



1 




LEWIS AND CLARK. 119 

began to come, the party were ready and 
eager to set out again for home. 

Boats were built, and they again embarked 
— ^this time towards the east, and over land 
and waters not wholly unknown. The Indians 
along the route met them with friendly greet- 
ings, and every tribe was willing to help them 
with food and supplies of corn. 

The journey back was slow, for there 
were still the mountains and the rapids ; but 
it was successful. And at last, one bright day, 
the little fleet of boats turned again into the 
Mississippi and entered the little port of St. 
Louis. Glad indeed were the people to see 
them back again and to hear of all that had 
happened. 

But Lewis and Clark were impatient to 
reach Washington ; so away they sped again, 
up the Ohio to Pittsburg, and then over land 
to Washington. 



LEWIS AND CLARK. 121 

Great was the rejoicing when the two 
heroes returned. News was sent up and 
down the country, and people flocked to the 
city to get a glimpse at the travelers. 

Jefferson was proud, indeed, of the suc- 
cess of his plan. The journal of the voyagers 
was read and explained ; specimens of flowers, 
and trees and rock were produced, and a full 
report of the whole journey given. 

The government was convinced that the 

purchase of the land beyond the Mississippi, 

was a wise move. Lewis and Clark were 

i^ enrolled upon the country's list of brave 

■ men; and for their services to their country 

they will always be held in honor and respect. 



JOHN CHARLES FREMONT AND 
KIT CARSON. 

It was in 1(842 that the government 
sent out another exploring party under 
John C. Fremont. 

Fremont was a young man, and he had 
already explored much in the west. 

Already pioneers had settled here and 
there through the west, even to the shores of 
the Pacific. There were towns and villages 
everywhere. 

Still the deep regions of the Rockies 
had not been explored. Fremont believed 
that wonderful things were to be found 
there; then, too, the government was eager 
to find a safe and direct route through the 
mountains. 

123 



124 FREMONT AND CARSON. 

So Fremont went to St. Louis, still a 
leading fur station. He collected there a 
band of daring men, and set out. 

The men were mounted on horses, 
except those who drove the provision carts, 
and Kit Carson was their guide. 

Now, Kit Carson himself was a wonder- 
ful man in his time. He was born in Miss- 
ouri, and in those days when every settler had 
to keep a watch over the Indians. 

His father was a hunter; and Kit him- 
self became a hunter when a mere boy. 
But Kit's father was very poor. He could 
not clothe his children, and often they were 
hungry and cold. 

One day when Kit was fifteen years 
old, his father said to him, '' Kit, you must 
go to work, you must learn a trade." 

And so Kit was made an apprentice. 



FREMONT AND CARSON. 125 

For two years he worked hard in a saddler s 
shop. It was a hard life for the hunter 
boy, and he longed to escape to the woods. 

One morning a band of traders came into 
the town, on their way to New Mexico. 

They told marvellous stories of the places 
they had visited, and of New Mexico most 
' of all. Kit listened to these stories as long 
as he could, then hurried back to his work. 
The shop seemed duller than ever. He felt 
as if he were in prison. 

'' I will not bear it ! " he said. '' I will 
? be free!" and when the traders left the vil- 
lage. Kit went with them. 

In Mexico he found the freedom his soul 
longed for. For a year he spent his time in 
catchmg wild horses and breaking them to 
the harness. This was a perilous life, but 
Kit enjoyed it because it was perilous. 



126 FREMONT AND CARSON. 

By and by, he joined a party of trappers 
who were going westward to fight the 
Indians. 

The party set forth one morning bright 
and early, for the Salt River. There were 
Indians there who were always on the watch 
to drive away the trappers. They did not 
like the coming of these white men, for they 
were destroying the homes of the beavers 
and driving them up the river. 

It was here Kit Carson had his first 
Indian fight. It was a sharp, quick fight, in 
which not one of the trapping party was 
harmed. 

After a time this party broke up, and 
eighteen of them started for California. Kit 
went with the eighteen, for he wanted to 
see new lands and make new discoveries. 

It w^as a long, hard journey from Mexico 



FllEMONT AND CARSON. 127 

to the California coast ; for there were only 
Indian trails to guide the white men. And 
sometimes it was wisest to avoid even these, 
and creep along through high grasses and 
dense forests. 

The trappers suffered bitterly on this 
journey. Their food gave out, and often they 
could find no water. More than once the 
horses had to be killed for food, and when 
at last the California station was reached, the 
men sank down exhausted. 

This was young Kit Carson's first bitter 
experience. Still he did not flinch. For he 
loved the freedom of the trapper's life. He 
used to say, *' I would rather starve here on 
the prairies than live in a city!" 

One night when the trappers were asleep, 
some Digger Indians crept down to their 
camp, and stole their horses, every one. 



128 FREMONT AND CARSON. 

Now Kit was only nineteen, but he had 
already proved himself plucky and daring. 
And so to him was given the lead of a little 
party to pursue the thieves. 

It was easy to follow the trail. Indeed, 
it seemed to Kit Carson, too easy. For the 
grasses w^ere trodden down, bushes were bent 
aside, and every thing looked as if a large 
number had passed through. 

Now there were only twelve in Kit's 
party, and they were poorly equipped for 
battle. Still they pushed on, and at last came 
in sight of the Indian camp. 

It was just at sunset, and the Indians 
were getting ready for the night. There 
were certainly a full hundred of them ; still 
Kit believed he could surprise them. 

Stretching themselves in the grass, they 
watched the camp until darkness fell. Then 
they waited till midnight. 



FREMONT AND CARSON. 129 

At midnight they crept down close to 
the camp. Then with a dash they burst 
upon them. They tore open the wigwams 
and shot straight in upon the savages. They 
whooped and yelled ! They ran round and 
round, firing every second. 

Then they hurried to the corral where 
the horses were tethered. Each man mounted 
one and led another. All the rest were 
stampeded, so that the Indians would have 
no means of pursuit. 

And so, before the Indians had time to 
collect their wits, the trappers were gone, and 
they were left helpless in their wigwams. 




CROSSING THE PLAINS. 



KIT CARSON AS FREMONT'S GUIDE. 

This was the kind of life Kit Carson led 
for years. He wandered up and down the 
country, through the Rockies, across the plains, 
till he knew every trail and every pass. 

People began to call him the '' Monarch 
of the Plains." 

And so when General Fremont started 
out, he sent for Carson and asked him to 
guide them. 

The little party set out from St. Louis. 
Reaching the Kan river, they left their boats, 
and struck out across the Kansas prairies to 
the Platte. 

For a few days the journey was peace- 
ful. Too peaceful, Carson thought, for noth- 

131 



132 FREMONT AND CARSON. 

ing happened. There was no danger, for no 
Indians appeared. 

But just as the party passed Fort Lar- 
amie, a herd of buffalo appeared upon the 
prairie, and the explorers gave chase. 

This was all new and w^onderful to 
General Fremont's men, and General Fremont 
wrote it all out in the journal he was to carry 
back to the government. 

Here is what he wrote: — 

'* As we were riding along a bank, a great 
herd of buffalo came crowding up from the 
river. They had been down to the water to 
drink. 

'' The wind was favorable ; the morning 
was cool ; the distance across the prairie gave 
us a good chance to charge upon them. 

" It was too good a chance to be lost. 
Kit Carson, Maxwell and I started out on 
our horses for the chase. 



FREMONT AND CAKSON. 133 

'' The herd was a half mile away. We 
rode till we were about three hundred yards 
from them before they saw us coming. 

'' Then they began to run hither and 
thither. They had seen us and were pre- 
paring for a stampede. 

'' We urged our horses on, and for a 
time rode breast to breast with them. We 
were closing in upon them rapidly, and those 
in front were tearing along like the wind. 

'' Once in a while one in the rear would 
turn and face us, then dash on after the rest. 
We were now rushing over the ground like 
a hurricane, when Carson gave the hunter's 
shout to charge ! and we broke upon the herd 

'' We entered at one side, and the herd 
gave way before us. Many of them were 
thrown to the ground, and all scattered in all 
directions. 



134 FREMONT AND CARSON. 

'' My own horse was a trained hunter. 
And with eyes flashing and the foam flying 
from his mouth, he set upon one buffalo like 
a hungry tiger. We came up along side, I 
fired, and the creature fell at our feet. 

'* Then I looked around to see what 
Carson was doing. He, too, had just shot 
down a buffalo, and away in the distance 
Maxwell's gun, too, was heard. 

" Between me and the hill the body of 
the herd was still dashing on. I turned my 
horse, and again we dashed after them. 

*' The thick cloud of dust blinded and 
stifled me so that I could not see the herd. 
They crowded closer and closer together; 
still I could see nothing, and my horse nearly 
leaped upon them. 

'' Then the herd divided. My horse 
rushed into the gap. 



FREMONT AND CAKSON. 135 

'' Five or six of the maddened creatures 
charged upon us, but we left them far behind. 
Singling out one in the herd, I fired. My aim 
was too high ; the buffalo leaped into the air 
w^th a roar, then scurried on swifter than 
before. 

" But we were reaching now a prairie- 
dog village. I reined up my horse, and the 
herd tore by like the wind. It was dangerous 
to pursue them among the mounds, and they 
stretched in all directions not less than two 
miles." 

But while Fremont pursued his buffalo, 
Carson had been attacked by another. 

With a great roar one had charged upon 
him, horns down, and heels in air. 

Carson, too, charged, and the buffalo 
turned and fled. 

Carson pursued and fired. The bullet 



13G FREMONT AND CARSON. 

only wounded the animal, however, and with 
another roar, he turned and charged upon 
Carson again. 

Just then Carson's horse stumbled in 
the mounds of the prairie-dog village, and 
the rider was thrown. 

It was now^ a race for life. The buffalo 
was in swift pursuit ! There was no time to 
reload ! But one thing w^as possible — to 
reach the river. 

On they flew — the buffalo gaining at 
every bound. His roars filled the air. Already 
his hot breath was close upon him, when 
the river was reached and Carson sprang 
into the water! 

For an instant the maddened buffalo 
stared. Then he raised his head and bel- 
lowed. Then he shook his great mane and 
braced his forefeet. He kicked his heels high 
in the air and roared again. 



FREMONT AND C ARSON. IT) 7 

But all this did Kit Carson no harm, 
for he was safe in the water, or at least 
beyond the reach of the angry foe. It was 
only a question of how long the buffalo 
would keep him there. 

The buffalo seemed to understand the 
situation. He bellowed and bellowed, then 
turned and began to eat grass, keeping his 
eyes always on his prisoner. 

How long this might have gone on, we 
cannot know. But fortunately Maxwell saw 
the dilemma, and crept up behind the buffalo. 

So busy was the creature watching Car- 
son, that he did not hear the approach of 
Maxwell ; and when Maxwell raised his gun, 
he fell, shot through the heart. 



FREMONT'S PEAK! 

At Fort Laramie Fremont found the 
Indians illy disposed towards all white men. 
Only recently there had been a contest 
between the red men and the white men, in 
which the Sioux had lost ten of their warriors. 

Their war paint, therefore was still on, 
and they were ready to attack any white man 
who should enter their territory. 

Fremont's men were all men who had 
explored in these regions ; and were, then, 
used to danger and to Indian warfare. Still, 
the reports made them uneasy. Carson him- 
self called it foolhardiness to go on, and so 
the little party encamped at Fort Laramie and 
waited. 

139 



^ 




FREMONT ANT) CARSON. 141 

While they were encamped here, the red 
men made them many visits. Fremont him- 
self had gone to them and told them why 
he had come into the country. 

He showed them the thermometers and 
barometers he had brought and told them 
their uses. The use of the chronometers and 
the quadrant he explained to them. And 
when they were sure he had not come to 
molest them or even to take up a claim of 
land in their country, they were willing to 
be friendly. 

Once a redskin came to Fremont's own 
tent and invited him to a dog feast. This 
was the greatest honor the redskin could 
give a stranger. Of course he did not think 
the stranger might not enjoy the dog feast. 

Fremont would have been very glad if 
he could have ''sent regrets." But he dared 



142 FREMONT AND CARSON. 

not. The savages would never have forgiven 
him. 

So he went. He was invited into the 
wigwam of the chief. The women and chil- 
dren sat in circles outside the wigwans. 

The dog was still boiling in the kettle 
when Fremont entered. But at once a squaw 
bailed it out into huge wooden bowls and 
gave it to the guests. 

It tasted like mutton, Fremont thought; 
and he tried to think it was mutton. He 
had his bowl filled twice; for it would have 
been very rude to eat only one bowlful. The 
red men would have thought he did not like 
their cooking. 

Fremont was impatient now to go on. 
So he got the wagons ready and called the 
men together. 

'' If any man wishes now to go home," 



FREMONT AND CARSON. 143 

said Fremont, "now is his time; for I want 
only bravest men with me in this expedition." 

Only one man refused to go on. The 
others were eager and anxious to go. So 
Fremont gave the one man the money that 
was his share and sent him home. 

Just as Fremont was ready to start, 
some of the old chiefs came running to him. 
*' Wait, wait ! " they said. " Our young war- 
riors mean to fire upon you. They lie in 
ambush for you ! " 

Fremont listened with respect. But he 
did not believe what the chiefs said. "This 
is only a game," he said to his own men, 
" to keep us here for trade." 

" But we are all ready to go," Fremont 
said to the chiefs ; and we must go. Tell 
the young warriors we have a great supply 
of shot and are ready for them." 



144 FREMONT AND CARSON. 

The chiefs went back to their village, 
and the white men went on. There was no 
attack from the young warriors, and the little 
band passed through in safety. 

After a week of travel, Fremont came 
into a land of drought. The winds were hot 
and dry ; the grass was parched ; not a buf- 
falo was to be seen. The grasshoppers had 
infested the country, and not a sign of life 
was left. 

The Indians had abandoned their villages 
and had gone farther south. 

Then Fremont called his men to him 
and said : '' You see the condition of the 
country. But we must pass through it if 
we would reach the mountains. We have 
water, and we have ten days provisions. If 
we can find no game, we can, if we are 
driven to it, kill our horses and mules for 



FREMONT AND CARSON. 145 

food. How many are ready then to push 
on ? 

Every man sprang to his feet. And '' I ! 
I, sir," rang out across the prairie. 

They were now at the base of the foot 
hills. Full in front of them lay the white 
topped Rockies. 

'' We must leave behind," said Fremont, 
'* everything we do not really need." 

Then the men all set to work. They 
dug a great hole in the forest, and laid in 
all the baggage. They took the wagons to 
pieces and laid them, too, in the hole. 

Then they covered them over with turf 
and dry leaves. No one would have dreamed 
that any change had been made in the soil. 

" Now if a rain would come and pack 
down these leaves, no one could suspect us," 
said Fremont. 



146 FREMONT ANT) CARSON. 

The men went back to their tent. But 
hardly had they reached it when down came 
a cyclone. It caught the tent up as if it 
were a mere leaf. It upset the barometer 
and dashed it against the ground, and broke 
the thermometer in bits. 

This loss was serious ; for Fremont 
wished to test the temperature of the moun- 
tain peaks, and had brought the thermom- 
eter all this distance. 

A few days later, in crossing the Green 
River, the boat was upset in the rapid current. 
Crash went the barometer upon the rocks ; 
and when they picked it up, the tube was 
broken in the middle. 

This was a sad loss to Fremont, for 
now he would have no way of measuring 
the height of the peaks. 

" Perhaps it can be repaired yet," Fre- 



FREMONT AND CARSON. 147 

mont said. So he set to work. For two 
whole days he worked. First he made glue 
from the hoofs and horns of the buffalo. 
Then he filed down a piece of horn till it 
was flexible and so that it could be seen 
through. 

This he bound around the tube and 
held it in place with the thick glue. Then 
they tested the barometer, and to their delight, 
found that it was all right. 

'' Now for the highest peak ! " shouted 
Fremont. 

The next morning every man ate a hearty 
breakfast. They filled their knapsacks and 
hid the rest of their food under the rocks. 

Then the men saddled their niules and 
started up the mountains. Sometimes they 
went up places so steep that the men had to 
lie flat on the mules' backs. Sometimes they 




Wj 



%m 




PIKE S TEAK FROM THE GATEWAY OF THE GAKUEN OF THE GODS. 



FREMONT AND CARSON. 140 

went through places so dark they could hardly 
see the rock beneath their feet. 

Once they came to a wall of rock, 
thousands of feet high. 

At the end of this wall they found lakes 
in the solid rock. 

But the explorers were now nearing the 
top of the mountain. It was the very highest 
in the range, and they were ambitious to 
stand on its very top. 

So their mules were left to graze — 
indeed there would have been no grass for 
them farther up — and the men set off alone. 

The air grew thinner and thinner. It 
was cold and hard to breathe. The men put 
on moccasins, for often they had to creep on 
their hands and feet. Often there were only 
crevices for them to set their grasp upon. 

But at last the peak was reached ! The 



150 FREMONT AND CARSON. 

highest peak in all the Rockies. Around it 
lay snow and ice. One by one, the men crept 
up on the topmost rock ; for it was very 
small — only about three feet w^ide. But 
every man stood upon it, one at a time. 

Then they placed their barometer to 
estimate the height. It was 13,570 feet above 
the sea level. 

They gathered a few flowers that grew 
there even on the very edge of the snow, and 
placed them in books to carry back to 
Washington. 

Then they raised the stars and stripes, 
and gave three rousing cheers for America! 
The greatest country in all the world they 
were sure ! 

But the air was so cold and thin, and 
even a little exertion made the men so 
breathless, they were glad to descend. 



DANIEL BOONE. 



151 



Their return east — by way of the Platte, 
this time — was happy and successful. And 
in a few weeks the party reached Washington 
ready to report to the government their story 
of the wonderful Rockies. 




A SECOND EXPEDITION. 

Fremont's success encouraged him to 
set out on a second expedition. 

At Fort Bent he again engaged Carson 
for a guide, and they set off for the Sacra- 
mento Valley. 

They reached the Bear River and rowed 
up twenty miles, till they came upon Great 
Salt Lake. 

From here they pushed onward to the 
territory of the Pierced Noses, in California. 
This was as far as F'remont cared to go ; for 
from here another explorer took up the line 
and carried it to the coast. 

It was now nearly midwinter. Still 
Fremont was unwilling to return l3y the old 

153 






m^-^'fl^^: 




FREMONT AND CARSON. 155 

route. '' It would be a waste of time," he 
said. '' Let us take another route and so 
discover something new." 

The route chosen this time was by way 
of Tlamath Lake, — a route unknown even to 
Carson. But the men were ready to follow 
their leader, and they set out bravely. 

There were only twenty-five of them, and 
some of them were very young. But they 
were daring, every one ; and Fremont felt 
secure. 

Two Indian guides were engaged, and 
they made their way first to Tlamath Lake. 
The lake was rather a disappointment ; for 
they found it only a shallow basin. 

With no guide except their compasses, 
they pushed on to Mary's Lake. They found 
themselves now in a land of cold and famine. 

In one place they had to stop and dig 



15G FREMONT AND CARSON. 

their way through a wall of snow twenty feet 
deep. 

In this bitter cold, their pack horses 
were lost, and many of the men died from 
exhaustion. 

They reached Fort Sutter in May — and 
a pitiful party it was that staggered into the 
fort, ragged and sick and half starved. 

Here at Fort Sutter they rested for 
several days. But as soon as it seemed 
wise, Fremont set out again homeward. 

It had not been a successful expedition ; 
men had suffered and died ; and no great 
discovery had been made. 

Still it had proved the courage of the 
explorers more, perhaps, than had the first 
expedition ; and the name of Fremont was 
honored by his countrymen. 

It was not very long before he set out 



FREMONT AND CARSON. 



on another expedition. Again he engaged 
Kit Carson as guide, and they set out for 
Sutter's Fort. 

Much of the journey lay over the old 
ground ; but the company was better pre- 
pared this time, and so suffered less. 

At Sutter's Fort they again rested and 
refilled their wagons with provisions. 

It w^as well they had this rest ; for hardly 
had they set out again when they met a 
body of Mexicans. 

The Mexicans were led by General Castro, 
who meant to drive back any Americans who 
attempted to come near their border lands. 

This was not long before the war between 
Mexico and America broke out. And in 
this war we shall soon learn that Fremont 
and Carson both fought bravely for their 
country. 



ir)8 FIIEMONT AND CARSON. 

There were four hundred of these Mex- 
icans ; but they hesitated to attack Fremont's 
little party. They knew that it was a bold, 
daring company, even if small. 

So they w^aited until they could get the 
Apache Indians to help them. 

Fremont, of course, knew nothing of all 
this ; and suddenly down poured the Apaches 
— a thousand of them — upon the valley. 

'' We must not stay here," said Fremont. 
*' This basin is the worst possible place. 
The enemy can surround us and pour their 
arrows down upon us." 

Then a council of war was held. Carson, 
who knew^ the w^ays of Indians, advised that 
they keep a sharp watch on the enemy. 
And when they w^ere least suspecting it, rush 
upon them. 

'* This is the surest way," said Carson, 
to deal with savaiires." 



FREMONT AND CARSON. i;,9 

"You are right," said Fremont. Then 
Fremont made Carson lieutenant, and they 
marched forward. 

They marched some fifty miles before they 
reached the place where the Indians were 
camped. 

They marched very slowly, so that the 
horses should not be exhausted. For they 
would need them in the attack. Two scouts 
kept on a mile ahead of the party. One 
night, just at sunset, they came hurrying back. 

" We have found them ! " they cried. 
''They are in the camp beside the lake. 
They are off guard. They are getting ready 
for the night. They are not even on the 
watch ! " 

Fremont and Carson hurried forward to 
see for themselves. It was as the scouts had 
said. 



160 FllEMONT AND CARSON. 

'' Now is our time ! " said Carson. 

Then they went back to the men and 
prepared them for an attack. 

'' Our best w^ay will be this," said Carson. 
'' Wait till the savages are asleep. Then 
rush in upon them. Rowland yell and fire! 
Make the greatest possible noise ! Throw 
them into confusion ! Make them think there 
are ten thousand of us ! If we can do this 
we can rout them ! " 

At midnight Fremont's party had crept 
close up to the camp of the enemy. The 
savages were sound asleep. 

Then Fremont's men scattered themselves 
around the outside of the camp on all sides. 
Every man was mounted. Rifles were ready. 

When all was ready, Fremont gave the 
signal ! And with a whoop the little band 
bounded into the camp. 



FREMONT AND CAUSON. 161 

The Indians sprang" up bewildered. They 
looked out of their wigwams. As soon as 
a head appeared, the white men discharged 
their rifles upon him. 

Bang! bang! bang! Whoop! whoop! 
whoop ! No sooner did an Indian appear 
than he was shot down. 

Bullets rained in upon the wigwams. 
Indians fell in tens and twenties. 

Then panic seized them ! They dared 
not raise an arrow even. But creeping out 
from beneath their wigwams, they ran like 
hares into the forests. 

It was a great victory. A complete 
victory ; and one that taught the Indians a 
lesson they did not soon forget. 



FREMONT^S MEN SURPRISED. 

After this Fremont went back to Lan- 
son's Post for ammunition and provisions. 

Then he started off northward, meaning 
to make his way into Oregon. 

One day, as they were journeying along, 
two white men came hurrying to meet them. 
This was a surprise. And a greater surprise 
still when Fremont saw they were two 
men who had served .with him in the first 
expedition. 

Quickly the men told their story. Lieu- 
tenant Gilespie with a small band of explorers, 
was encamped not far away. They were 
nearly starved, and were in danger of attack 
from the savages. 



163 



1G4 FREMONT AND CARSON. 

These men had been sent out in the 
hopes of finding Fremont's party. 

Without further words Fremont, with ten 
of his strongest men, set out with food for 
Gilespie's party. 

For sixty miles they traveled through 
the rough country; and at last found the little 
band hidden in a pass in the mountains. 

Glad indeed was Gilespie for food and 
help. The two men sat by their camp fire 
talking till midnight. All the men, tired with 
their long march, were sound asleep. No 
one dreamed of danger. 

But at midnight, without a sound of 
warning, down came the savages. A whoop, 
a yell, and they were upon them. 

It was the Tlamath chief and fourteen 
of his warriors. 

A hot fight followed. The Tlamath 



FREMONT AND CARSON. 165 

chief himself was slain at last, however; and 
as he fell the savages fled. 

All night long the white men lay in the 
tall grass expecting another attack. None 
came. And ini the morning they gathered up 
their own dead, carried them into the forest 
and covered them over with leaves and 
boughs of trees. 

Fremont's party was angry when they 
heard of this massacre, and thirsted for 
revenge. 

'' Come on ! " said Carson. And with a 
picked half dozen he started off for the 
Tlamath Lake camp. It was easy to find; 
and without mercy Carson charged upon it, 
drove the frightened warriors in all directions 
and burned every wigwam of their village. 

From the dispatches Gilespie had brought, 
Fremont learned that war was now declared 



160 FREMONT AND CARSON. 

between Mexico and America. The Indians 
were allied to the Mexicans. Therefore they 
wTre eager now to attack the explorers for 
two reasons. 

Fremont's party now^ went down the 
Sacramento to learn, if possible, the plans 
of the Mexicans. 

Soon the Mexicans attacked a garrison 
at Sonoma, and carried off a large amount 
of ammunition. 

'' We will kill every American in Cali- 
fornia ! " said the Mexican general. 

'' We will see ! " said Fremont. And he 
got together an army and marched towards 
the Mexican camp. 

The Mexicans heard that Fremont was 
coming. They forgot to boast now, and 
began to run away. 

For six days they ran, Fremont follow- 



FREMONT AND C.\US()N. . 1G7 

ing. Fremont took several prisoners and 
then turned back. So successful had he been, 
that men came to join his army from all 
over the state. 

With this army Fremont again set out. 
This time to Los Angeles, where General 
Castro was stationed. 

'' We will demolish the Mexican army 
this time," said Kit Carson. 

And so they would have, had not Castro 
again fled. 

This was a cowardly flight; for Castro 
had twice as many men as Fremont had. 

But he knew the kind of men Fremont 
had. That w^as why he fled. And Fremont 
took Los Angeles without a struggle. 

California was now free from Mexican 
rule — and Fremont was made governor. 

For a time all went well, Carson was 



168 FREMONT AND CARSON. 

sent to Washington to tell all that had hap- 
pened in the far west. It was a perilous 
journey, and Carson was the only man who 
knew the route well enough to attempt it. 

At this time Commodore Stockton sailed 
for San Diego. Now Stockton had command 
of southern California; and as soon as he 
went away, the Mexicans came creeping back. 
They recaptured Los Angeles and many 
other places. Fremont began to grow uneasy. 
He watched eagerly for the return of Kit 
Carson. He needed reinforcements. And 
he longed to go again into battle. 

Kit Carson at last came back ; and with 
him came General Kearny, with a force of 
several hundred. 

At once Kearny took charge of the Cali- 
fornia army, Fremont joined him and war 
began again in that state. 



FREMONT AND CARSON. 1G9 

In the south, Fremont and Kearny were 
attacked suddenly by a great force of Mex- 
icans. There were twice as many Mexicans, 
and for a time the Americans seemed lost. 

But they drew off into a timberland and 
threw up intrenchments. 

Here the Mexicans attacked them and a 
hot battle followed. 

Then the Mexicans settled down for a 
siege. 

" We are lost," said Fremont's men. 

" We can hold out only a few days. 
Our food will give out." 

" There is but one hope," said Kit Car- 
son. '' We must have help. We must get 
word to the army at San Diego." 

'' But how can we get through the enemy's 
lines ? They are all around us. We are 
hemmed in by them." 



170 FREMONT AND CARSON. 

'' But we've got to get through ! " was 
Carson's answer. '' It is our only chance." 

Then Carson with one companion set 
out. 

At midnight they crept out from the 
timber. Carson had learned from the Indians 
how to crawl along through the grass. 

In this way they reached the first line 
of guards. The sentinels were on the watch, 
but they did not see the two men crawling 
along so near them. 

Sometimes they would lie still for a 
whole half hour till a sentinel walked to 
the other end of his line. 

Sometimes the sentinels came so near^ 
they were sure he must see them. 

At last they had passed this line of sen- 
tinels. Then they took off their boots, lest 
their steps, even now, should be heard by 



FREMONT AND CARSON. 171 

some scout, and ran in their bare feet over 
the rocks and briars and across the sharp, 
stubby grass. 

But Commodore Stockton was reached ! 
Forces were sent ; and the little army in the 
timber land was saved from massacre. 

But it had been a terrible journey. For 
two months Carson was unable to step, and 
it was two years before his companion was 
able to take his place in the army again. 
But these brave men made no complaint ; 
both were proud that they had done their 
country such service ; and for it their country 
did not fail to give them honor. 

So the war went on in California. Fre- 
mont and Kearny always victorious, though 
the Mexican forces were so large and strong. 

At last, one day, the Mexican forces 
started north towards Fremont's camp. 



172 FREMONT AND CARSON. 

At a short distance they halted and sent 
forward their messengers. The Mexican gen- 
eral wished to speak with Fremont and 
Kearny. They had come to surrender their 
arms ; they had come to give themselves up 
prisoners of war. This was the end of hos- 
tilities, and the country over which Mexico 
and the United States w^ere disputing, now 
came into the possession of the United States. 

Gladly and generously General Kearney 
wrote to Washington this letter. 

'* This morning Lieutenant Colonel Fre- 
mont, of the regiment of mounted riflemen, 
reached here with four hundred volunteers 
from Sacramento. The enemy surrendered 
to him yesterday, agreeing to lay down their 
arms. We have now the prospect of peace 
in this part of the country." 

When the war was over all these brave 



DANIEL BO(^NE. 



173 



men went to Washington ; and you may be 
sure that not least among the many heroes 
were Fremont and his brave guide Kit 
Carson. 




MYTHOLOGY. 

{Second Year Pupils.) 




The Story of Ulysses. 

Large Type Edition. Illustrated. Boards, 30 cents; 
Cloth, 40 cents. 




In Mythland. 

By M. Helen Beckwith, Florence Kindergarten, Mass. 
Fully illustrated. Boards, 30 cents; Cloth, 35 cents 

It is one of the most excellent books of its character yet 
produced. Mason S. Stone, 

State Supt. of Edu ation, Vt, 




For 3rd and 4th Years. 

Little Flower Folks, or Stories from 
Flowerland. 

By Mara L. Pratt. Vols, I. and II. Boards, 30 cents; 
Cloth, 40 cents. 
(Adopted in several cities and State Reading Circles.) 

There is in little children an innate love for flowers. No 
one so enthusiastically welcomes the springtime as do the 
children — no one else has time to welcome it, to no one 
else is it all so new and beautiful. Then why not nourish 
and cultivate this taste of the child for the flower-world ? 



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